Combat Preparations
After Victor and Alex finished discussing the flour project, they reached an agreement on the entire business plan. To show his sincerity in cooperating, Alex signed a contract with Victor using his personal seal. Alex was responsible for transportation, sales, and part of the production, while Victor was responsible for technology and part of the production.
After everything was sorted out, Alex happily left the Two Rivers Territory with ten stone mill flour machines and 200 tons of flour, and returned to the Iron Birch Territory by boat.
Victor instructed the flour milling engineering team to continue improving and perfecting "Steel Mill Number One". This team consisted of master craftsmen and artisans from the Machine Factory and the Arms Factory. Victor planned to reward them after the flour project became profitable.
The flour project is progressing smoothly, and Victor no longer intends to focus his energy on it.
James had approached Victor several times, and several military commanders in the territory were also eager to volunteer for the mission. After all, according to last year's plan, this year they were to sweep through the Barbarian Tribes in the north of the territory. On the one hand, they wanted to capture slaves for iron mining, and on the other hand, they wanted to use the battle as training to improve the combat effectiveness of the new recruits and maintain the fighting spirit of the veterans.
However, the plan has changed. First, the troops from the Golden Sunflower Territory will be transferred to the Two Rivers Territory for troop rotation and participation in this sweep operation to gain combat experience. Second, Marvin is about to arrive with his men, requiring further adjustments to the army's organization. These junior officers who are coming with Marvin are all experienced in combat and can act as a catalyst for change. Third, Victor's efforts to expand the territory's financial resources are progressing smoothly, and a new round of military expansion is underway. After the new recruits complete a month of continued training, they will be directly involved in this operation to experience war in advance, since the scale of this battle is entirely under the control of the Two Rivers Territory.
Although the funds haven't arrived yet, Victor plans to start expanding the army ahead of schedule. This round of expansion must be done quickly; the sooner it's completed, the more time there will be for the sweeping operation.
Victor has already contacted the Gorn Trading Company and notified Vitri to come to the Two Rivers Territory. Victor will then show him the iron mine, and the mortgage loan can be made directly. After all, everything has been arranged in advance. The gold will be sent directly to the Golden Sunflower Territory, and the remaining 5,000 gold will be kept in the Two Rivers Territory for expenses after the military expansion.
On May 15, Marvin arrived in the Two Rivers Territory with his men, while their relatives would have to wait some time to arrive.
On May 16, Victor sent someone to notify all military commanders and the two leaders of the Horseshoe Tribe, Jell and Luda, to attend a meeting at the Military Academy in Wood Fort Town. This Military Academy was established by Victor to strengthen the training of junior officers. All officers of squad Squad Leader and above must undergo no less than two months of training here before taking up their posts. The academy's office building is very large and can also serve as the military command center for the territory.
The meeting was convened for two reasons. First, Marvin was arriving, and as an important officer, he needed to be introduced to everyone. Second, Victor believed that although the formal sweep operation would be postponed, some preliminary work could begin earlier.
When Victor entered the meeting room, everyone was already there, including James, Marvin, and the chief of the Horseshoe Tribe.
Victor didn't say much, and directly announced the start of the meeting.
At the meeting, Victor first explained why the sweep operation had been postponed. He then mentioned that the army would be expanded again, this time by two thousand men. At the same time, Baron James would lead the army of Green Valley Territory to join the combat order of Two Rivers Territory. From then on, Two Rivers Territory would have two formal combat regiments and one garrison regiment, with a total strength of more than 7,800 men, not including the logistics detachment. This time, Victor would no longer hold a specific position. In other words, these three senior officers were selected from the territorial officers present.
However, Victor did not want to implement any military democracy. His territory's army was his personal fiefdom. Victor directly appointed Regimental Commanders: Baron James, acting Regimental Commander of the First Regiment of Two Rivers Territory, Santos, acting Regimental Commander of the Second Regiment of Two Rivers Territory. The choice of them was simple: James had a high rank, and Santos had seniority. Moreover, Santos's Second Regiment was based on Victor's First Infantry Detachment and the original garrison regiment, making him the most suitable candidate for Regimental Commander.
Ron and Knight Jack were appointed as deputy Regimental Commander of the First Regiment, while Jackson and Foss, the former deputy commander of the First Infantry Detachment, were appointed as deputy Regimental Commander of the Second Regiment.
Meanwhile, Santos will relieve the two mixed infantry and cavalry units of Golden Sunflower, and return to Golden Sunflower Territory with half of the Second Regiment's forces.
The two mixed infantry and cavalry detachments will form the basis for the garrison regiment, which will consist of three detachments. Marvin and his men will be assigned to the garrison regiment, with Marvin serving as the regimental commander.
After Victor announced the appointment, he informed the various units that recruitment would begin immediately, and the new recruits would be assigned to their units after completing basic training.
Then Victor directly ordered the two chiefs of the Horseshoe Tribe to give a report, telling everyone the intelligence they had been gathering since last winter.
The grassland caravan of the Horseshoe Tribe set off north from their settlement and explored westward along the Great Fish River.
Since last November, a total of seven tribes have been discovered. Five of these tribes are smaller than the Horseshoe Tribe, ranging from two or three thousand to several hundred people. They are simply designated as target tribes numbered one to Number Five. The Blazing Fire Tribe, located 350 kilometers northwest of Horseshoe, is a larger medium-sized tribe with a population of over 20,000. Tribes numbered one to Number Five are basically vassal tribes of the Blazing Fire Tribe.
The tribe furthest from Mazhan is Iron Palm Tribe, which is located to the northeast. This tribe is more than 400 kilometers away from the Horseshoe Tribe and more than 300 kilometers away from Liehuo. Although this tribe is not large, it has only slightly more people than Horseshoe Tribe.
However, according to the investigation by the Horseshoe Tribe, the Iron Palm Tribe should be a branch of the Iron Bone Tribe, so Victor also paid close attention to this tribe.
After Jell and Luda revealed the basic information about the seven tribes, the meeting room fell into discussion, with everyone offering their opinions on the strategy for conquering these tribes.
Although Victor made his own decisions regarding military personnel appointments, he was willing to listen to everyone's opinions on specific military operations plans and commands, after all, one person's wisdom is limited, but the wisdom of many is superior.
After discussion, a unified battle plan was finally reached: the Blazing Fire Tribe would be the first priority target, the other five vassal tribes would be the second priority target, and the Iron Palm Tribe would be the last priority target, which could be abandoned depending on the situation.